Apartment Life as a Fam of Four!

It has somehow been over ONE MONTH since we made the move to our temporary apartment home. When we first decided to sell our home (see my very first blog for all the details why) we knew in this market there was a high chance of it selling quickly. So we made the simple statement that most people can or will make when they build their next home; “we’ll just live in an apartment!”. This post is all about our first month in, things we’ve learned, a few things we didn’t think about *yikes*, and how long we plan on staying!

The Search Begun

Once we knew we were going to list our old home, we immediately began the search for a temporary apartment home. I looked into location, apartment size, amenities, and lease length. The lease length ended up being one of the biggest factors. We wanted an apartment that offered a shorter six month lease. We knew if we signed a lease for a year, we wouldn’t need that entire time and therefore would be financially penalized for ending our lease early. So searching for somewhere that has shorter lease terms ends up narrowing down your search quite a bit, at least if you’re in the Triad area of North Carolina. Upon seeing the options left we decided to head out and see the places in person. We wanted to walk through the apartment and see the neighborhood first hand. Plus, it was great to see the amenities. Both Weston and Silas are water bugs so it was great to know that we would have a pool to use all Summer! The timing was perfect! We were thankful to find one within our price range, with a shorter lease, in an area that we were familiar with. We signed the lease the same day we picked out the floor plan of our new home. It was an eventful day!

We’re Totally okay!

When I tell people that we are currently living in an apartment, I sometimes get this look of pity or sadness. “Oh, how is that going?”; people would quickly say. To my surprise, and I feel safe saying this after being here a month, we are totally okay! The apartment is a great size and the home we sold was small. Our living room and bedrooms at the apartment are actually bigger than what we had at our previous home. So no one feels tight or crammed in here! I’m also enjoying the kitchen space because we have more cabinets + countertops. When we first unpacked I had almost two whole cabinets that were empty and I was shocked! Our boys are also enjoying being higher up and seeing the all views. Plus, we CANNOT wait to enjoy the pool this Summer too!

Things We Remembered

Ben and I are no strangers to apartment living. We both lived in apartments in college and we lived in two more apartments after we got married. So we knew what to expect in some cases. Our dog Indy was our biggest concern. She’s an older dog and gets startled easily by the sounds of people. We knew she would be barking all the time, not to mention have difficulty with the stairs. We were able to combat this with the help of my brother. He’s home a lot due to virtual learning while in college so he has taken on Indy for us. It’s the best scenario because she gets to be in a home with someone we trust, taken on walks often, and the boys still get to visit her too! It’s hard to not have her here with us all the time but we knew this would be the best for everyone. We also knew the trips up and down the stairs would always be a thing. Taking out the trash, getting everyone to the car, and carrying up all the groceries was something we knew we would just have to “get over”. After all, it’s those small sacrifices that make you appreciate the bigger outcomes; right?!

Yikes! The Things we Forgot

Parking. Oh, mylanta the parking. I don’t know if this was something I forgot or just the layout of this particular complex, but the parking sucks. It’s not that I have to walk a bit to the car or that our car is outside. It’s the fact that I have a tiny person that wants to dart out into the parking lot and run free. I have to death grip his hand while walking through the lot and across a main entrance into our section of the complex. I have a mini heart attack each time keeping him by my side and out of the line of traffic. Of course the spots up close and next to the sidewalk are almost always taken. So it’s been a learning curve for both boys to realize they can’t just head out of the house and run straight to the car anymore. Something else we forgot. The noise. And not noise from our neighbors. I’ve been pleasantly surprised that we’ve only heard a few people or cars from time to time. The noise I’m talking about is from the tiny humans Ben and I made. We have two all out boys who want to jump, and yell, and wrestle, and play! Well, all that energy also makes for some BIG noises. We try so hard to keep them settled and have explained that our neighbors below don’t care to hear them jump off the sofa into a tuck and roll on the floor 32 times before noon, but alas, it happens. And every time it does I have another one of those mini heart attacks. So neighbors below us, I am terribly sorry for the noise! I apologize! Just a few more months to go!

A Season to Remember

I am most grateful for apartment living right now because I know it will be season to remember. A season that allows us to fully understand the work, patience, and gratitude that comes from the waiting. An adventure that leads us into the next season of our new home! Our current plans are to stay here about six months as our current move-in date is mid September. Ben and I were chatting on the way back from the in-laws the other day and we still are in shock that building a home is in our plans. We often pass by where we use to live and it still feels strange knowing we choose to leave. We know that we had too, but it just hasn’t all the way sunk in yet. As we start to see the walls take shape in our new home, and the season that lies ahead of us, I am sure it will.